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F O O D & D R I N K<br />
Autumnal abundance<br />
A TASTING MENU OF AUTUMNAL ABUNDANCE - COOKED WITH NO SMALL AMOUNT OF FLAIR - HERALDS<br />
A NEW ERA FOR SWINFEN HALL’S RESTAURANT THE FOUR SEASONS, AS AMY NORBURY DISCOVERS<br />
A top notch chef maketh the<br />
restaurant, and when said chef<br />
parts ways there’s always the<br />
worry that the food, well, just<br />
isn’t going to be what it used to.<br />
After making a suitably<br />
delectable impression at The<br />
Four Seasons, former head chef<br />
Ryan Shilton recently hung up<br />
his Swinfen Hall apron to go it<br />
alone, with the opening of his<br />
Larder restaurant in Lichfield’s<br />
historic centre due later this<br />
month.<br />
Luckily, the man to step into<br />
Ryan’s oh-so talented shoes<br />
has an impeccable pedigree<br />
of his own. Darren Meacham spent seven years<br />
at Hampton Manor just outside Solihull, and was<br />
the senior sous chef when the hotel’s lauded Peel’s<br />
Restaurant landed its Michelin Star and four AA<br />
rosettes.<br />
With a couple of stints at Ynyshir under Gareth<br />
Ward also under his belt, Darren’s cooking reveals<br />
an intriguing mix of classical French and Japanese<br />
influences.<br />
Darren made the move to a head chef role at the<br />
acclaimed Harborne Kitchen, renowned for its<br />
unfussy fine dining, before turning his back on city<br />
life to take Swinfen Hall’s award-winning restaurant<br />
into its next chapter.<br />
So we were delighted to be invited over for a quick<br />
chat with the man himself, and a sample of the<br />
restaurant’s new six-course tasting menu.<br />
Just three weeks into the role many chefs would still<br />
be finding their feet, but Darren is cooly taking to<br />
the task at hand with the confidence of a man on<br />
a mission. And it seems to be a marriage made in<br />
heaven, with Darren’s flair and creativity perfectly<br />
complemented by the abundance of produce<br />
available, quite literally, on the doorstep from<br />
Swinfen Hall’s impressive walled garden.<br />
The tasting menu, priced at £70 per head, is a<br />
celebration of local, seasonal produce, reflecting both<br />
the surroundings and Darren’s personal influences.<br />
Relaxing with drinks in front of the fire in Swinfen’s<br />
opulent lounge, we are treated to our first morsels<br />
of Darren’s culinary showcase. And what a first<br />
impression it is. The perfectly crisp cracker topped<br />
with cheddar cheese cream and a lovage mayonnaise<br />
is a tantalising mouthful, but it is the chicken liver<br />
parfait tartlet which really impresses. The finest<br />
pastry, the silkiest parfait and a lick of damson<br />
chutney create a sensational bite.<br />
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